Equestrian Dzhigitovka

Since time immemorial, the people of the Eurasian steppes and mountains have relied on horses for transport, protection, and even milk and meat.  Over time, the tribes of the Caucasus, Central Asia, and southwestern Russia developed special techniques and became magnificent horsemen.

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One of the most fearsome and skilled groups in this region was the Cossacks.  They originally lived on the territory of modern southwestern Russia and eastern Ukraine, and were valiant horse warriors with their own democratic system of government.  Later they were recruited by the tsars to help guard borders, police cities, and fight military campaigns.

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The Cossacks were one of history's most effective cavalries due to their mastery of various types of weapon, most famously the curved Cossack sword or "shashka", and to their complete comfort in the saddle; they could stand on their horses, jump on and off them, play dead or hide behind them, all at a gallop.  Their techniques were called "dzhigitovka" (Jih-gih-tohv-kuh), a name derived from the Turkic word "dzhigit" ("horseman") and a Russian suffix meaning approximately "the art of".  Dzhigitovka was the art of great horsemanship as practiced by Cossack warriors.

 

The Cossacks were some of the fiercest and most dedicated opponents of the Bolshevik regime during the Russian Civil War, and because of that,  many of them were forced to flee the country afterward.  These Cossacks spread their equestrian arts around the world, influencing circus riding, rodeo riding, and vaulting.  Meanwhile, in the USSR, their culture was repressed.

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During the 1990s, after the fall of the USSR, the few descendants of Cossacks remaining in Russia began to rebuild their traditional culture.  Some of them started to organize competitions in mounted weapon use and tricks, as their ancestors had done.  A few dedicated enthusiasts made huge efforts to turn this hobby into an official sport, and in 2016, their hard work finally paid off.  That was the year when the first Equestrian Dzhigitovka World Championship was held in the city of Lytkarino, Moscow Region.  Then the Russian Equestrian Federation officially recognized equestrian dzhigitovka as a discipline of equestrian sport.

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Now dzhigitovka is practiced not only in Russia, but in the UK, Germany, Jordan, and many other countries!  Wherever you're from, you are welcome to join this difficult but rewarding, newly official sport!